Cultivator



L. E. WATERMAN.

c uLrlvAToR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, 191?.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

who

L. E. WATERMAN.

A cuulvnon.

APPLICATION F-ILED OCT. 1,0, 1911.

1,391,027. Patentedept. 20, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. E. WATERMAN.

CULTIVATOH.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, |911.

Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

Mum)

L'. E. WAERMAN.

CULTIVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, 1917.

Patented sept. 20,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICE. A

LEWIS E. WATERMAN, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO EMERSON-BRANTING-HAM COMPANY, 0F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS. Y

CULTIVATOB.

Specicaton of Letters Patent. Patent-ed Sept. 20, 1921.

Application led October 10, 1917. Serial No. 195,684.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Lewis E. WATERMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cultivators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cultivators, and the primary object is toprovide one especially adapted for general cultivating purposes, thatis, to meet the conditions and requirements of both field and gardencultivating.

In furtherance of this general object I' have incorporated in acultivator in a novel manner various features of advantage, which enablecultivating in a most practical and efficient manner. Generally stated,these include the provision for shifting the cultivating gangslaterally, simultaneously with the angling or steering of the wheels soas to accurately follow the rows, adjustment of the shovel gangslaterally to accommodate variousV widths of rows, adjustment of thewheels laterally to narrow or widen the tread, automatic balancing byforward and backward movement of the wheels with respect to the framewhen raising or lowering the shovel gangs, and the application of allmovements and draft forces in a most simple mounting the cultivatinggangs on a crossY shaft or bar or the like which is included inl theconnection between the wheels for maintaining them in parallelism andwhich serves to support thecultivating gangs in a rigid and substantialmanner and 'also permits them to be adjusted laterally to accommodatedifferent widths of rows, andfor establishng` such a connection bweenthegang supporting means and wheels that the latter may be moved forwardlyand backwardly independently of movement of the gang supporting means,when the gangs are lowered and raised.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art when the invention becomes better understood byvreference to the following specifi- Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthecultivator v with the near wheel removed for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to the preceding ligure, but showing thecultivating gangs in a raised position and the consequent movej 1 kmentof parts; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary front and rear views respectively of onesideof the cultivator.

vIn the present embodiment of my iml provements a frame is provided,including spaced side bars 8 and 9, converging forwardly as shown, andpivotally connected at 11 to an interposed tongue 12. A brace bar 13rigidly binds together and holds in spaced relation the forward portionsof the side bars just at the rear of the pole, and the rear ends of theside bars are attached to and secured together by a wheel-arch or axlestructure. This, in the present instance, lis designed so that thedepending portions of the wheel arch may be adjusted laterally fordifferent widths of rows and may be swung forwardly and backwardlyfor'balancing, as will be mentioned hereinafter and consists of atubular sleeve member 14.- ysecured at its ends by set screws 15 inquadrant brackets designated generally by reference character 16, whichare shaped to provide forward eX- tensions 17, in which the rear ends ofthe' side bars 9 are seated and rigidly bolted. Telescopically androtatably mounted within each end of thesleeve 14 is an elbow wheel-archmember 18 having a depending portion 19 in turn Vrotatably fitting in asleeve or axle-Supportingl bracket designated generally by referencecharacter 21. As noted in Fig. 5, this axle-supporting bracket projectsbelow the lower end of the against lengthwise movement upon said portion 19 but is permitted to move rotatably with vrespect thereto bylreason of a pin 22 passing through the member 19 and confined at itsends in slots 23 formed in the sleeve 21. The lower end of eachwheel-arch mem' ber 19 is stepped upon the upright portion of an elbowaxle member 24 which is rigidly secured within the lower end of thebracket 21 by means of a bolt 25. An anti'- friction bearing is providedbetween the axle 24 and wheel-arch portion 19 sok that the wheels may beangled freely with practically no frictional resistance of close'fitting and binding parts, since the weight of the cultivator iscarried entirely through the bracket 21 and pins 22. A carrying wheel 26is vmounted'on each'axle 24and a suitable sand box 27 `may be employedin connecting the wheel with the axle for preventing lsand 'and foreignmatter from entering the wheel bearings.- Each wheel-arch member isfurther held in set vposition against lateral movement with respecttothe frame by a link 28- embracing the `portion 19 of its respectivewheel-arch yjust above its bracket i v21'and connected by a bolt 29 tothe quadrantbracket 16, as shown. These links have each a series ,ofperforations for the reception of'fastening bolts 29, so that thewheelarchmembersmay be adjustedlater'ally and held in` predeterminedposition by locating the bolts 29 inthe desired holes in the links.

Erom the foregoing, it will be noted that a.

wheel-arch, thatis, an arch structure connecting the carrying wheels tothe frame, is provided, permitting the wheels to be adjusted laterallytok vary the tread and to be moved forwardly and backwardly with respecttothe frame and also to be angled about an upright axis for the purposeof steering the cultivator. With reference to these movements, it willbe noted that the `horizontal portion of each wheel-arch member 18 jstelescopically and rotatably fitted in the sleeve member 14 and is heldagainst telescoping movement therein by means of its respective link28,and that the axle supporting bracket21, which carries `the axle is freeto revolve upon the depending portion of its. respective wheel-archmember. This gives an exceedingly simple construction, confined strictlyto the general shape of the arch structure and while permitting ofthevarious movements just mentioned, is so designed as to be amply strongand durable for withstanding all strains incidental to usage. The meansfor maintaining the wheel-arch members in upright position and forswinging them backwardly and forwardly and also for angling the wheels,will be-describedlater in connect'ionwith the descriptionof thel controland operation ofthe cultivating gangs. l

` Itis desirable that the cultivating gangs or shovel-'carryingV beamsshall be pivotally supported so that they may be easily raised andlowered and shall be shiftable laterally, simultaneously withanglin'giof the wheels, allowing `the cultivator -to be easily` andquickly guided to accurately followthe rows, and shall also be capableof lateral adjustment in accordance with thewidth of rows and thus beapplicable for both field and garden cultivation and shall finally besupported in a rigid and substantial manner, so as to hold to a givenand set workingA relation to the plants, which is especially dev sirablewhen close cultiva-tion is desired, as in garden work. With theseVrequirements in view, I have pivotally'suspended 'the cultivating beamsor drag bars from across bar or shaft, jin turnv slidable Vlaterally onthe frame and connected with the axle supporting brackets, mentionedabove, in a manner to establish a steering connection be- -tween thewheels, and`have provided suitable connections between the shovel beamsand cross bar for holding the same in Vfixed and adjusted relation withrespect to lateral movement.' This cross bar or shaft 31 is slidablymounted in bearingsV 32, which are rigidly secured to the side barsvadjacent to the front of the cultivator, as shown. The

cultivating gangs 'Y may bel of any Asuitable or preferred construction,andin the present instance, are of the beam type designed to carry agang 'of cultivating'shovels on each side of a row of plants. Each gangof shovels is mounted on a beam structure,

which, in this instance, consists of a pair of upon and withrespect tothe rod 31 by reason Vof the slidable mounting of the beam arms 34thereupon. An adjustable connection is established between the cross rod31 and each lcultivating gang .for theV purpose of holding the gangs infixed relation to the l cross rod and also of adjusting the Vgangs Ylaterally thereupon.r Thisconsists of arhand lever 35 pivotally mountedat 36, centrally upon the Vcross rod and vvhavinglink connections 37 and33 on opposite sides of the lever fulcrum, respectively with the twocultivating gangs, a quadrant and latch connection ofthe usual typebeing provided for holding the lever iixed in any adjusted positionthereof with respect tothe cross rod. v It will be manifest,l therefore,viewing F ig. k1, that Yby adjusting the lever 35v in Y a clockwisedirection Ythe Vcultivating gangs will be moved outwardly upon the rod31 to widen the cultivating paths, and upon moving the lever in theopposite direction the cultivatinfr gangs will be moved closer together.

he means for steering the. cultivator,

that is, for angling the wheels and simul. taneously shifting thecultivating gangs lat` erally will now be described. It will first benoted that there is a connection between each axle supporting bracket 21and the adjacent end of the cross rod 31, of such construction as totransmit the lateral movement of the cross rod 31 to the bracket 21 inan oscillating movement by which the wheels will be angledsimultaneously with lateral shifting movement of the cross rod 31, andsuch as will permit the depending wheel-arch members to be swungbackwardly and forwardly in the balancing operation of the cultivator,independently of movement ofthe cross rod, as will be described morefully hereinafter. This connection I have vdevised in simple form,consisting of a link 39 pivotally connected at its forward end at 41 toa bracket 42 secured to the adjacent end portion of the cross rod 31 andpivotally connected at its rear end at 43 to the upper end of thebracket 21. In this latter connection the bracket is shaped to provide aforwardly opening socket 44 which receives the rear end portion of thelink 39 so as to confine the same against sidewise or horizontalmovement on its pivot 43, thereby establishing a connection by which thebracket 21 may be oscillated on the depending 'portion 19 of the wheelarch member, the socket being of a forwardly tapering and enlargingshape, so that the bracket is capable of back and forth swingingmovement in a vertical plane with respect to the link 39. Hence, whilethere 1s a permanent connection between the cross rod 31 and axlesupporting bracket 21 by which the latter will be oscillated to anglethe wheels, the bracket 21 is capable at any time 4of being swungbackwardly and forwardly without interfering with the cross rod 21l orits cultivating gangs, for the purpose of balancing the cultivator whenthe gangs are raised and lowered, as will be mentioned hereinafter. Thesteering means for moving the cross rod 31 laterally is foot-operatedand consists of pendant foot stirrups or levers 45 pivotally mounted onthe wheel-arch sleeve 14 and having extended up-per arms 46 connectedrespectively to the adjacent cross rod brackets 42 through the agency oflinks 47 and 48V and a bell crank 49 interposed between and connected tosaid links and pivotally mounted on the side bars of the frame totransform forward and backward movement of the arms46 to a lateral orsidewise movement for moving the cross rodV 31 laterally. It will beevident that an'opera-tor seated on the saddle 51 carried by thebars 52,in turn secured. t0

rows. The cultivating tools may be guided in very accurate relation tothe plants b-y means of a steering device of the character described.

Hand levers are provided for raising and lowering the cultivating gangs,which it will be noted, may be raised at their vrear ends about theirpivotal mountings at their forward ends on the cross rod 31. These handlevers 53, one for each cultivating gang, are each pivotally mounted at54 upon a quadrant bracket 16 and are equipped with the usual ,springlatch engagement with the notched sector of the quadrant. The levers areextended below their pivots and connected at their lower ends to theirrespective shovel beams, the connections shown consisting of links 55having a one-way connection with the beams and equipped with anexpansion spring 56, which permits the beams to rise when the shovelsencounter any obstruction while passingover irregular ground. By means`of this arrangement, when the upper ends of the hand levers 53 aremoved downwardly the cultivating gangs will be raised to an elevatedposition, and in the event that the machine is employed in cultivatingbe tween rows of trees in orchards where the limbs of the trees are low,the links 55 may be connected in the holes 57 above the pivots 54 of thelevers so that when the tools arev '.in the ground the levers will be intheir ing gangs, this being for the purpose of automatically balancingthe cultivator, as is well known in the art, so that the front end ofthe pole will not be raised by the change in the center of gravity ofthe machine incidental to raising the shovels from the ground.` For thispurpose, each cultivating gang is equipped with a rigidly forwardly andoutwardly extending arm 58, which serves also as a draft member, as willbe presently mentioned, and the forward end of each of these arms isconnected by means of a link 59 to the adjacent sand box bracket at 61or may be connected to any similar part fixed with respect to the axle.When the gangs are raised they will be swung upwardly and rearwardlyabout the fulcrum 31 and the wheels will be moved rearwardlyabout thepivotal mounting of the wheel arches 18, through the agency of theconnections 58- 59, it being obvious that this movement will the wheelsand the cultivating tools. This is of material importance, since thedraft is not transmitted through any frame structure or Y complexmechanism, but is applied directly to its point of usage, which makesthe cultivator exceedingly light of draft and easy to operate. The draftmeans illustrated consists of an, evener v62 pivotally mounted at 63 onthe tongue 12 and equipped at its ends with pendentsa which areconnected intermediate their ends through the agency of clevis links 65or any suitable means, to the forward ends of the draft members 58, andarel adapted-to be equipped at their lower ends with Whittle-trees 66.By connecting the draft direct and low to the cultivating gangs, it isutilized to hold the shovels in the ground so that they will be keptscoured vand will perform their cultivating function in a verysatisfactory manner and will have ino tendency to run out of the ground.An

adjustable connection is provided between the pole 12 and the frame ofthe cultivator for relatively adjusting the pole and frame to thereby*level the beams or to properly position them with respect to thehorizontal in accordance with the work being done. This connection takesthe form of an adjustv able hand lever 67, pivoted at 68 to a notchedsegment 69 with which the lever cooperates in the usual way and which issecured to the cultivator frame, and a yieldable link connection 71between the lever and rear end of the tongue. Referring to Fig. 1, itwill be seen that the brackets 12 are shaped to provide a series ofopenings 40 spacedsimilarly to the openings in the links 28. Theseopenings 40 enable the links 39 to be properly adjusted when the links28are adjusted, as

mentioned above, to narrow or widen the cultivator, it being obviousthat lthe bolts L11 maybe positioned in any opening 10, correspondingwith a similar adjustment of the bolts 29, for width.

In the operation of my improved cultivator, it will be understood fromthe foregoing description that a very sensitive steering device isprovided by means of which the'cultivating shovels may be very Yaccurately guided with respect to the rows by angling the wheelsandsimultaneously shifting the cultivating gangs laterally uponoperation of the foot stirrups 45; that the cultivating gangs aresupported in a very-simple and rigid manner, so as to be easily raisedand lowered and moved laterally when steering and also so that they maybe adjusted laterally independent of the steering device to accommodatedifferent widths ofy rows and to be arranged in the desiredproximity tothe plants, this being especially desirable in Ygarden cultivationwherein it isnecessary features of ad'ustment and o eration Dro- Yvision 'in a simple and novel manner, for effecting automatic balancingof the cultivator when the cultivating gangs are raised and lowered, andthat the `back and forward movement of the wheels lis governed by adirect connection betweenthe same and the cultivating gangs, thisbalancin feature be-v ing'accomplished with very little mechanism andwithout a'ecting in any waythemounting` or positioningof the cultivatinggangs,

so that with regardto the lattera `very sim-` ple construction ispossible, including theV desired adjustments; that the cultivator may Ybe widened. and narrowed for field or garden cultivation lin a verysimple and easy manner; and that the foregoing features are accomplishedina most direct manner by a structure exceedingly simple in view of themany adjustments and desired operating functions of the parts.v

It is believed that the operation of my improvements, and-it should beunderstood that while I have illustrated foregoingY conveys a clearunderstanding of the principles and one practical working embodimentthereof,

the construction and varrangement Yof parts might be changed andmodified without d'eparting fromthe spirit and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended' claims:

I claim: v, Y. 1. Ina cultivator, the combination of a frame, a wheelarch, a wheel connected with each depending upright portion; of thewheel arch in such manner as .to be capable of turning about theuprightaXis thereof and to be movable forwardly and backfwardly withfrespect tothe frame` about ,the horizontal axisV of said arch, a cross bar mountedupon and slidable laterally with respect to the frame in front of thewheel arch, shovel gangs atj tached to the cross barso yas to be'movablelaterally therewith, a connection between each depending portion of thewheel arch Y and the adjacentV end. portion of the cross bar for anglingthe wheels whenthe cross bar Vis moved laterally and Permitting thewheels to be moved forwardly and back.-

wardly independently of movement of theV cross bar, a connection`between the shovel gangs and wheels for moving the latter forwardly andbackwardlyV upon lowering and raising the shovel gangs,means for movingthe cross bar laterally, yand means for rais-- l the frame, shovelbeamsv pivotally attachedV tothe cross bar to swing verticallythereupon, a connection between each wheel-supporting bracket and theadjacent end portion of the cross bar for oscillating thebrackets inunison upon lateral movement of thejcgl'oss bar and permitting back'and' forth swlnging movement of the brackets independently ofjmovementof.y thel cross bar,means forV moving jthe cross bar laterally,'connections between the cultivator beams andwheels for moving thelatter 'backwardly `and forwardly through the act of raising andlowering the beams, and means for raising and-lowering the beams.

3. In a cultivator, the combination of a frame, carrying wheels capableof being angled with Vrespect tothe line of draft and of being movedforwardly and backwardly with respect to the frame, shovel gangs mountedupon and movable laterally with respect to the frame and having each aforwardly and outwardly projecting extension in substantially thehorizontal plane of the beams, means connecting the shovel gang andwheels for angling the latter upon moving the gangs laterally, an evenermounted on the frame and equipped at its ends with depending links,connections between ksaid t links and said extensions of the beams and40 between said beams and thewheel supports, whereby draft applied tosaid links will be transmitted directly to the beams and wheels,

and means for raising and lowering the beams and consequently moving thewheels backwardly and forwardly through the agency of said links betweenthe beam extensions and the wheel supports.

4c. In a Vcultivator, the combination of a frame, a wheel arch mountedthereon, an

A axle-supporting rsleeve bracket revolubly mounted on eachdependingportion of the wheel arch and held against lengthwise movementthereon, an `axle rigidly secured to the lower end of eachaxle-supporting bracket andV equipped with a carrying wheel, laterallymovable beam-supporting means'mounted on the frame forwardly of thewheel arch, each axle-supporting bracket being shaped at its front sideto provide a forwardly opening socket for reception of a link which isconfined against sidewise movement with respect to the bracket and iscapable of vertical swingingl movement relatively thereto,l linksdisposed at one end in said sockets and attached to their respectivebrackets and connected at their opposite ends to the beam-supportingmeans, whereby the wheels may be moved forwardly and backwardlyindependently of movement of said beam-supporting means and `wherebyalso the wheels will be angled upon lateral `move1nent of said means,means for moving the beam supporting means laterally, and means formoving the wheelsbackwardly and forwardly;y

(5,. In cultivator, the combination of a frame, a wheel arch havingdepending portions, any axle-supporting bracket revoluble about eachdepending portion, of the wheel arch and shaped to providey a forwardlyopening socket adapted to receive the end of a link in a manner to'confine the same against lateral movement with respect to the bracketand to permit the link to 'swing vertically upon the bracket, an axlesecured tothe lower end of'each axle supp-ort,wheels on the axles,beam-supporting vmeans movable laterally upon and with respect to theframe, links disposed at -one end in said sockets and connected to theirrespective brackets and connected at their opposite ends to saidbeam-supporting means, means for moving the .beam-supporting meanslaterally and consequently angling the wheels, and means for movingthewheels backwardly and forwardly.

6, In a cultivator, the combination of a frame, carrying wheels,mountings for the carrying wheels so that the latter are capable offorward and backward movement with frespect 'to the frame, shovel beamspivotally mounted at their forward ends and equipped adjacent theretowith laterally extending draft members, a link connection between eachof said draft members and the wheel mountings so that when thecultivating beams are raised and lowered the wheels will be movedforwardly and backwardly through the agency of Saidl connections, anddraft means applied directly 110 to said forward extensions of thecultivat` ing beams.

7. In a cultivator, the combination of a frame, a wheel arch thereforhaving `a depending portion at each side of the frame, 115.'

an axle-supporting sleeve bracket revoluble upon each of said dependingportions of the wheel arch and held against lengthwise movement on saidportions, an elbow axle, the upright portion of which is rigidly securedin the lower end of each axle-supporting bracket, the lower end of eachdepending wheel-arch. portion being stepped through the agency of ananti-friction bearing upon the top of said upright axle portion, a wheelmounted on the axle, and means for oscillating the axle-supportingbracket on the depending wheel-arch portion for steering the eultivator.

8. In a cultivator, the combination of a frame having an upright spindleortthe like .at each side, an axle-supporting sleeve bracket revolubleabout said spindle andk projecting below the lowerA end thereof,- meansfor holding the bracket against lengthwise movement on the spindle, anelbow axle, an upright portion of which is rigidly secured in the lowerend of the sleeve bracket, an anti-fricton bearing between the adjoiningends of the spindle and l. axle member, a wheel mounted on the aXle,'

and means for oscillating the bracket on the spindle to steer thecultivator.

V9In a cultivator, tlie combination of a frame, carrying wheels thereforcapable `of fforward and backward movement for balancing purposes,cultivator beams or drag bars mounted on thel frame with capacity forraising and lowering kmovements and equipped with forwardly extendingdraft bars, means Afor raising and lowering the ment; about .uprightaxes, a dragfbar support shiftable ylaterally .ofthe frame, drag barsattached to. said support'andha'ving forwardly extending draft bars,draft means. attached to `said `draft bars, a `con-v nection betweeneachdraftfbar .and the adjacentwheel formovingfthe latterforwjard Y andvrearward when thedragbar is loweredV and raised,V and lmeans forraising and lowering the :drag bars.

f LE-rvis E. 'vinrrniumiv.l

i respect tothe V:frame vand 0f pivotalfmove-

